


Dead squirrels and dysfunctional families

by Lunarisss



Category: The School for Good and Evil - Soman Chainani
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Highschool AU, Hurt/Comfort, also kind of slow burn?, anadil dances and you cant change my mind, be gay do crimes, dot plays the guitar, hester is an artist legend, its just me being soft over the coven friendship, oh i also made their friendship less toxic because i can, what if i took your favourite characters and gave them traumatic backgrounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:08:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25770379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunarisss/pseuds/Lunarisss
Summary: Hester moved to another country to escape her past. Her plan to avoid trouble and other people went terribly wrong after she got onto the bad side of Arbed boys, self proclaimed kings of her new school, and they've decided to make her life hell.She needs allies, and as much as she hates to admit it, she's grown to like Anadil and Dot, the two girls that always try to help her, no matter how hard she tries to push them away.---TW: PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL ABUSE, UNDERAGE SMOKING AND DRINKING---Contains mild OTK spoilers
Relationships: Anadil/Hester (The School for Good and Evil), background Beatrix/Reena, past Anadil/Beatrix
Comments: 17
Kudos: 24





	1. Stuffed in the staff room

New school. New country. New everything. The beginning of the new chapter of Hester's life.

As she stood at the front of the school gates, she regretted everything. Maybe she was supposed to be excited, but she only felt angry and miserable.

The plan was quite easy. She just needed to avoid people and major trouble for one year and then graduate and go to college as peacefully as possible. Well, of course, everything went wrong within few minutes. She didn't blend in the crowd with her piercings, huge demon neck tattoo and resting i'm-gonna-murder-you face, so it was not surprising when she drew attention of a group of four boys, standing near the entrance, chatting loudly and glaring at everyone passing by.

Hester was determined to stick to her plan, even if it meant not losing her cool while answering questions that obviously served no more purpose than to annoy her. But then one of the boys touched her tattoo in an attempt to examine it. She was always reluctant towards unnecessary physical contact, but her tattoo was a sensitive spot, since it covered the burn mark on her neck.

Her hand instinctively flew towards his face, slapping him hard. Excited whispers spread through the hallway like snakes. She turned and started to walk away, but then noticed a teacher, who has seen everything that happened.

“Come to my office,” she said calmly, which make the group of boys burst into laughter as Hester followed her.

She strode inside as quick as possible. While closing the door, she noticed the teacher's name on it- Clarissa Dovey. It sounded oddly familiar... Of course it did. She was the teacher that admitted her to the school, which meant she knew exactly who she was.

“Hester,” she started softly. “I know it may be hard to fit into the collective, especially in your situation, but you can do it if you try a little harder-”

Her voice was filled with pity. Hester clenched her fists. If she hated something more than strangers touching her, it was people pitying her.

“In my situation?”

“You know what i mean.”

“Stop trying to pretend that you know anything about me,” she snapped.

Dovey's expression didn't change. “Well, I'm sure know that you had hit your classmate before the school day even started. I suppose you don't want to get expelled again.”

Hester's heart skipped a beat. “Of course not.”

“So, I'll let it slide this time. But make sure it doesn't happen again. You should go get ready for your first lesson. If you need help with anything, just let me know.”

“Thank you, but no. I don't need your help. Or anyone else's.” She quickly left the room before the teacher could respond.

The rest of the day went surprisingly well, some people attempted to talk to her, but she made sure to reply in the most sarcastic way she could think of or just simply ignore them.

Slowly, she started to think that the whole incident is going to be forgotten soon.

After the last lesson, she left the school quickly, not wanting to spend any more time than necessary inside. The whole day felt like a blur, full of easily forgettable names, monotone looking classrooms painted in bright colours and huge crowds of people.

There was almost nobody outside of the school, so she slowed down, enjoying the silence and freedom. Instinctively, she reached for a cigarette in her pocket, then lit it.

Slowly getting caught up in steady rhythm of inhaling and exhaling, she failed to notice the group of boys approaching her, until they encircled her like a pack of hungry wolves.

“Smoking on the school grounds? Such a rebel, aren'tcha,” started one of them, the one she slapped earlier.

“So you think you can just come to a new school and do whatever you want?”

“Yes. And I'd say it would be better for you to not get into my way,” she responded through gritted teeth.

“Oooh, really? Such a brave thing to say. I wonder how long will your attitude last.”

They lessened the small space between them, but before anything else could happen, a girl came to her rescue, huffing and puffing and obviously exhausted from running.

“Somebody gave cops an anonymous tip that you are selling drugs and they are coming.”

They boys' faces whitened a bit. “Who did it?”

“I don't know,” muttered the girl, the fact that she lied was obvious.

“We'll sort it out later with you, Dot.” The girl smiled anxiously as the group of the boys left in a hurry.

“You're welcome!” chirped Dot, the stress from her face disappearing quickly.

“For what exactly?”

“We've saved you!”

“We?”

“Yes. Me and Anadil! I mean, it was all her idea. She wanted to pay me, but I didn't take the money, so that means I'm part of the plan. Sort of.”

“I didn't need any help.”

“Whatever you say. Anyway, it's really cool that you slapped Japeth. I think you're the first one to actually do that. I sometimes want to slap him too, but I'm too scared. Pretty much the whole school fears them, even the teachers... Well, it sure would be a shame if they broke your arm on the first day of school... Why did you change schools anyway?”

“Got expelled.”

“Really? Why?”

“None of your business.”

“Oh. Of course. You know, we could be friends. You seem pretty lonely.”

“I don't need any friends.”

“Of course you do! Who's going to help you so you don't get beaten up to a bloody pulp by Arbed boys?”

“Arbed boys?”

“Yes, that's what they call themselves. The male version of Mean girls, except there's four of them... Have you seen Mean girls? No? You definitely should. Maybe you are like Cady and you're going to overthrow them...”

“No. I definitely am not watching something called Mean girls and I don't need anything more to do with that bunch of assholes.”

“Tough luck then. They definitely won't forget about you that easily.” Hester turned to see the source of the raspy voice, which turned out to be an albino girl with a stone-cold face, dressed in an expensive-looking black dress.

“Are they still with the police?” asked Dot.

“Yes, not for long though. You two better leave.”

“Oh, yes, we definitely should. Maybe we can go somewhere together,” proposed Dot.

“No.” said the other two girls in unison.

“Come on. Let's at least introduce ourselves. I'm Dot, this is Anadil and you are?”

“Hester.”

“Great. What about a nice café or maybe-”

“NO.” The two didn't wait for a response and instantly started walking away, stopping when they heard voices coming from distance, but getting closer every second.

“I will fucking kill the bastard that did this.” It was clearly the voice of one of the boy group.

Hester felt the albino girl grab her wrist and then lead her and Dot into the closest door. They found themselves in a staff room, tiny space filled with half-empty bottles of cleaning products and old rags. Anadil locked the door from inside.

“Well this is just wonderful,” groaned Hester.

“It's going to be even better if you don't keep quiet,” hissed Anadil.

Hester didn't even bother with arguing. The room fell into silence, while the boys outside talked.

Dot leaned against the door and listened. Seconds felt like minutes, but finally, the voices slowly faded into distance until nothing could be heard anymore.

“I think they went away,” she started, but was interrupted by a loud crack and sound of something falling to the floor.

Shock filled the girls' faces as they noticed half of the key dropped on the floor and the other part still stuck in the keyhole.

Dot tried to pull the stuck part out, her movements quick and panicky, but failed.

“Can this day get any worse?” asked Hester.

“See? We were meant to actually end up like this! It's just like in movies!” Dot tried to sound happy, but her voice cracked a bit halfway through sentence when she realized just how serious the situation could be.

“You realize this all could have been prevented if you two just minded your own goddamn business?”

“Sorry for trying to help,” mumbled Dot.

“I don't need help. Not from you, not from anyone.”

“Whatever you say.” said Anadil coldly, switching with Dot and trying to unlock the door.

“God, you'll ruin it even more, let me see.” She shoved Anadil away and examined the lock thoroughly.

“We'll need to break the door down. Step away.” The other two listened, even though they didn't have much space to move to.

Hester kicked the door near the lock, almost instantly splintering part of the wood. She kept pushing her leg forward, until the door gave out with a loud crack.

“Do you break doors down often?” asked Anadil, her face remaining blank as always, but Hester could swear she saw a small hint of smile.

“Actually, yes.” She didn't elaborate.

Anadil looked around, obviously searching for something. It didn't take Hester long to realize what. Cameras.

“None.”

“Weird. Shouldn't a place like this have high security?”

Hester shrugged. “Good for us.”

And she started walking away, hoping to get away from the two girls as soon as possible.

“You could have at least said thank you,” commented Dot.

“I don't have anything to thank you for. Honestly, you should be thanking me for getting you out of that room, which you got us into. Just kindly and stay away from me, alright?”

“How rude,” responded Dot.

“Whatever you say,” said Anadil with a raised eyebrow.

And then they parted, each one of them leaving like nothing happened and they were total strangers.


	2. Painkillers are for the weak

Hester tried to ignore the dull feeling of loneliness she felt after coming to school. One part of her wanted to talk to the two girls she met, maybe even apologize. The second part of her knew that it would be better for all of them this way. She didn't need to hurt any more people. Maybe it seemed cruel to just push them away, but wouldn't it be even crueller to let them get close and then harm them even more?

She sighed. How could she be so selfish and even think about that? She made sure to keep her façade up the whole day. Even when she noticed that Dot almost approached her, but changed her mind halfway through. Even when she found out she shared almost every class with them both and Anadil sat alone the whole time, and she had to ignore her.

It's better this way.

“It’s better this way,” she kept telling herself, hoping that the feelings would disappear soon, yet they didn’t.

She wasn't used to being lonely, Agatha was always by her side, always forgiving her, no matter what happened... And look how it ended.

The thought of her ex-girlfriend made her brush all the doubts away. The look of betrayal in her eyes, when she told her she is going to break up with her and move to another country was still fresh in her mind and thinking about it hurt the same.

She reassured herself that she made the right decision.

The only distraction from her thoughts were the lessons, making her focus fully. She didn't cross paths with any of the Arbed boys, which was quite surprising at first, but later, she found out why. Their attention just switched to other targets, which were, in this case, Dot and Anadil.

And the feeling was there again. That this was all because of her... No. It was their decision and she shouldn't be feeling bad. Right?

As much as she tried to ignore everything, she found herself lost in thoughts again and again. She walked through the school corridors, bumping into people, yet she didn't even notice, everybody was too intimidated to actually get angry at her and confront her.

At the end of the school day, she was sure that they have forgotten about the 'accident'. And, of course, she was wrong.

Hester was on the way to her little apartment, the streets were oddly calm and quiet. This time, she made sure to start smoking only when the school was far behind her. The sensation of her lungs feeling like they were on fire felt strangely safe, like coming home after a long time.

All feelings of safety disappeared after the group of familiar faces approached her. The fact that they found her again puzzled her.

“Thought we forgot about you, huh? Well, guess we've got some bad news. We don't forget.”

...

She woke up in her apartment, every inch of her body hurting and with no memory of how she got there or what happened. Her head felt like it was going to explode. She tried to sit up, but was stopped by sharp pain.

“Fuck.” she said loudly, but then heard a soft chuckle. She turned her head to see Anadil.

“Careful. You need to rest.”

“What the fuck are you doing in my apartment?”

“Is that really your biggest problem right now? I found you half-conscious on the street. You somehow managed to give me your keys and instructions to get you here.”

“You carried me all the way here?”

“Most of the way you could actually walk.”

“How did you even find me?”

“This is beginning to sound like an interrogation.”

“You've followed me.”

“Perhaps. I've noticed Arbed boys following you and then returning with swollen faces, so I was curious and went to check on you. Good job, by the way. I think you even broke Aric's nose.”

“I told you to stay away from me.”

“Good that I didn't listen. Honestly, you've been much nicer when you've been half-conscious.”

Hester tried to sit up again, this time successfully. She took a deep breath and instantly regretted it, pain jolting through her body.

“You probably have few bruised ribs and maybe a small head injury, but you should be fine. Didn't look too serious... You should drink something.” Anadil handed her a glass of water, which she hesitantly accepted.

“I think you should get some painkillers too, but I didn't want to search through your stuff.”

“I don't have any.”

“Should I get you some?”

“No. Painkillers are for the weak.”

“Oh, really?”

Hester wanted to respond, but breathed too heavily and was stopped by sharp pain.

“Maybe.”

“Alright. There should be a pharmacy near, right? I think I saw one when carrying you here...”

“No. You shouldn't go alone. This isn't the safest neighbourhood.”

“Seriously?” she raised an eyebrow. “Are you worried about me?”

“No. But I don't want to be a suspect if you get murdered.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“You are wearing diamond earrings.”

“And?”

“You are literally a walking robbery target. With some luck you'll end up only kidnapped.”

“You didn't seem to mind when I was dragging you here. And I'd say I'm better at taking care of myself, considering the fact that you cannot even move from your couch.”

“Fuck off.”

“Why do you live here if it's so dangerous?”

“Not everyone has money for a mansion or palace or whatever you live in.”

Anadil quickly changed the topic: “Are you sure you'll be fine?”

“I can endure a little bit of pain.”

“If you say so. I'll get you some ice then.”

“It should be in the fridge.”

“Oh, really? Shocking.”

Hester closed her eyes for a bit and rested her head against the couch, but before she could actually zone out, she heard a loud bang. She faintly remembered that she might have left a bit of mess in the fridge from the last time she tried to cook.

“This is utter chaos to say at least,” commented Anadil while picking things off the ground.

“If it's so horrible, why don't you just clean it up?”

After few minutes of quiet swearing, Anadil managed to get some ice from the depths of the fridge.

“Take off your shirt,” she commanded.

“I like where this is going.” Again, she's seen Anadil's face move to a small smile, just for a second, but enough for her to notice.

“Interesting.”

“What?”

“You look like you don't show emotion, but actually, it's pretty visible.”

“People don't usually look for long enough to notice. Are you going to take your shirt off already?”

“Well, considering the fact that I cannot move properly...”

“Fine.” Hester then felt cold hands on her wrist, pulling the shirt above her head, goosebumps appearing on her skin.

Anadil then took the ice cubes, lying them on Hester's skin, where bruises would later form, moving them in circles. Hester cringed at the sensation of ice, but felt the pain gradually going away and relaxed.

“Wait. Aren't your parents going to be worried about you? How long have you been here with me?”

“I don't have parents. Just me and grandma, who is currently on a cruise. And the servants don't really care, I could disappear for months if I wanted to.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

The room fell into awkward silence, which was only interrupted by a timer going off. Anadil put the sack filled with ice cubes away.

“Is it better now?”

“I still feel like shit, but it's mildly better.”

“Good.”

“For how long are you going to stay?”

“I don't know. You definitely aren't able to function on your own right now.”

“You don't have to do this.”

“Who will, then?”

After getting no response, Anadil continued: “Whatever. You should rest now.”

Hester wanted to argue, but she could feel her eyelids becoming heavy again. Soon, she found herself drifting off to sleep.

She woke up after no more than half an hour, even though she spent most of the time trying to shift into a position that didn't cause her too much pain. At her old school, she got into fights regularly and none of them ended up quite as bad as this one, perhaps because people either avoided her or were significantly less skilled than her.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Anadil, trying to actually organize the fridge. She immediately burst out laughing, which caused that her pain to return, even stronger than before.

“I don't think laughing is the best thing to do right now.”

“Yeah, figured it out on my own. What are you doing?”

“You said that if I don't like it, I should clean it up.”

“I was joking.”

“Yeah, the fridge looked like a joke too. How do you even manage to live here?”

“I moved in a week ago.”

“And you managed to do this? I'm impressed.”

“I'm talented in many things.”

“Yeah, I've noticed. Do you have any allergies?”

“No. Why?”

“Well, we have to eat something.”

“Wait. Are you going to cook?”

“Yes. You've got a better idea?”

“You know how to? Don't you have servants at home?”

“I just don't want to depend on others too much.”

“Same, and here I am, unable to move and with you having to take care of me.”

“You'll get better soon. You should be able to move properly tomorrow. Two days at most.”

“So I'm gonna spend today just lying around?”

“Yes.”

“Oh god.” She gathered all her force of will and started standing up despite her body's protests.

Anadil looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “If you don't stop, I'm going to tie you to the couch.”

“I want to see you try.”

“Not like you could do something about it in your current state.”

“My current state is totally fine.” She, in fact, wasn't fine, but was too proud to admit it. She spent too much time trying to be tough to show weakness now.

Anadil sighed. “Just don't get even more hurt, fine?”

“What happened to the 'i'm gonna tie you to the couch'?”

“I realised that trying to reason with you is pointless.”

Walking actually wasn't so difficult for Hester, but sitting down was, so she ended up mindlessly pacing through her small apartment and thinking, the only interruptions being short ice massages.

Anadil cooked and studied at the same time, Hester kept checking if she set anything on fire, but surprisingly, she actually looked as if she knew what she was doing.

“What are you going to sleep in?”

“What?” Anadil lifted her head from the book in her hand.

“If you are staying, what are you going to sleep in?”

“This, obviously. I don't usually bring pyjamas to school.”

“It doesn't look very comfortable.”

“It isn't,” Anadil shrugged.

“I can lend you something if you want.”

“No need to.”

“I'm not saying this because I want to be kind or something, I am just wondering if you can actually breathe in that dress.”

Anadil smirked in her typical way and then said: “Well, if you insist.”

So, five minutes later, she was sitting comfortably in Hester's clothes and thinking about the fact that she might try to steal them. They were oddly warm, comfortable and smelled like gingerbreads. She was staring at the notes in her hand, but couldn't focus on the words. She suddenly realized no one will feed her rats that night, which meant they'll probably escape and raid the kitchen. She knew they were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, but she was still worried...

She didn't get much time to think, because the timer she set up for the soup went off. Minutes later, they both were sitting on the couch, silently eating and avoiding eye contact.

“It's not that bad,” commented Hester after a while.

“I guess.”

They both didn't know what to say, so they stayed silent until they finished eating. The silence lasted even when Anadil quietly started washing the dishes.

Hester took a deep breath (and then regretted it) and finally blurted out: “Ani, you know what? Thank you. For everything. Even the first day. You really saved me back then.”

“Ani?”

“Sorry. It just slipped-”

“No, it's fine. I actually like it to be honest.”

Somehow, it broke the invisible barrier separating them, both slowly getting more comfortable, talking for hours.


	3. Dead squirrel throwing competition

After a week, Hester was finally capable of going to school. Not like she really wanted to go, she definitely wasn't fully healed and quick movements were still painful for her. Anadil advised her to stay home, but Hester couldn't afford to spend more time missing out school, especially because she was new and needed to make a good impression.

It was also her first morning of being alone. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed having Anadil there, even though she was usually quiet and salty and kept organizing her things. She missed waking up to warm tea and breakfast, their late philosophical conversations and midnight smoking on the balcony. She even missed the stupid rats, with a terrible habit of destroying everything in their way, that Anadil brought with her.

“Nice job not getting attached, Hester,” she scolded herself. But maybe this was her chance to leave her past behind and start completely anew, just as she intended. Perhaps, this time, she'll do everything right and nobody will get hurt...

She almost laughed at herself. Of course she'll hurt people. That's what she did all the time, wasn't it? She almost killed a stranger, nearly overdosed and then simply said goodbye and moved to another country without leaving a trace, all in a single week.

Upon her arrival to the school, she noticed all the stares she's been getting. As she walked by, people looked away, but when they got behind her, they started chatting again, loudly enough so she could hear her name, but she didn't hear enough to figure out what they were talking about.

The crowd split so a group of four boys could walk towards her. Finally, after a long lecture from Ani, she was able to recognize who is who. Aric, the boy who she slapped the first day, wore purple coloured contacts to look more edgy and was pretty much just a sadistic jerk, Japeth was his boyfriend and willing to destroy the whole world for him, also a sadistic jerk, Rhian wasn't that bad, he just enjoyed the attention he was getting and Kei was there just because of Rhian.

“How brave of you to show up here again,” grinned Aric.

“We thought you'd just give up and return to whatever hell are you from, but apparently, it's not that easy to get rid of vermin like you.”

Hester felt her blood boil at the sight of them. “Oh, was that supposed to be scary? You're gonna have to try little harder than that.”

She expected anything from them, yet they just laughed and walked away, leaving her with a bad feeling of what is going to happen next.

Carefully, she started walking towards her locker. Suddenly, she felt someone bump into her, making her not fully healed ribs explode with pain. She tried to yell at the idiot who did that, only to find out she couldn't breathe.

She basically ran towards the bathroom, trying her best not to panic, which was hard, considering the fact she couldn't catch her breath and she felt like she was going to collapse any second and all of her body was shaking.

It took her long time, but she managed to get some air in her lungs, slowly, her breath became steadier. She was thankful that nobody has seen her like this.

She wanted to leave, but suddenly, the door was pushed open by a tall, muscular boy. He walked inside, smirking.

“This is a women's bathroom.”

“Oh, I know that. I just wanted to talk to you. My name is Jason. I figured out you might need someone to protect you.”

Hester couldn't help herself and laughed. “I can take care of myself.”

“Many girls are like this at first. Thinking they are so strong and independent, but in the end, they always realise they need someone. Someone like me. I am a very good friend of the Arbed boys and I could tell them to stop bothering you. They always listen to me, you know. I can make sure nothing will ever happen to you.”

Hester didn't respond, she just laughed, ignoring the pain her ribs caused her.

“Yes, go on and laugh. But why don't you just think for a moment? You're too weak to survive here on your own. Do you think you'd be the first person they've made change schools?”

That's when she stopped laughing.

Weak.

She spent her whole life proving that she isn't weak. Everything she has said and done proved she isn't weak. Her mother didn't raise her to be weak...

Yet he just called her weak.

“Listen up, boy. You have three seconds to leave.”

“Or what?” He smirked a bit.

She walked towards him, invading his personal space. He tried to take a step back, but soon, he was pushed up against the wall, Hester's hand against his neck.

If she didn't look threatening before, she certainly did now, her lips curved into a smirk, her dark eyes gleaming savagely.

She didn't even need to press too much, just a little bit, but the lack of air made him regret everything and he desperately struggled to break free, without success.

“Okay, okay, I get it, let me go now.”

Hester didn't say anything, she just stared at him, her fingers pushing a little bit more, making him squeal and gasp for air.

“Still think I'm weak?” she mocked.

“No. Not at all, please, let me go.”

And she listened to him, bothered by how easily he gave up. He bolted out of the room, not looking back even once. Hester sighed, she actually was looking forward to play with him some more, but she didn't want to terrify him too much, otherwise he might complain to teachers.

Disappointed, she walked out of the bathroom.

Most people went to their classrooms already, hoping to catch the best seats, so the hallways emptied a bit. She walked towards her locker, smiling slightly when she saw Anadil was already there, waiting for her.

“What took you so long?” she said instead of a greeting.

“You didn't have to wait for me like a lost puppy.”

“I didn't spend a week taking care of you just for you to pass out halfway to school and get kidnapped.”

“That's very unlikely to happen.”

Anadil just shrugged. Hester opened her locker to take out books for the next lesson. A dead squirel fell out, she assumed it was in one of the earliest stages of decay based on the smell it produced.

She took it by its tail and held it high in the air. It wasn't hard to figure out who left it there, the Arbed boys were lurking in the corner, snickering and awaiting her response. People walking by noticed and stopped to watch her.

She grinned and simply threw the animal towards the trashcan, making some girls talking nearby scream. Unfortunately, she moved her torso too quickly. Her body protested sharply and she missed, the squirrel landing nearby.

People were now looking at her, curiosity mixed with terror in their eyes. It was satisfying combination to see. Anadil was also watching her, smirking in her typical, almost invisible way.

“You missed.”

“Like you could throw it better.”

“I definitely could.”

Hester picked the squirrel of the ground again and handed it to Anadil.

She missed too, knocking the whole trashcan over.

“Wonderful.”

“I was closer than you.”

And so began the one and only dead squirrel throwing competition their school has ever seen, which ended up in a checkmate, fifteen minute long hand washing and a sensation the whole school kept talking about for probably a week.

“You don't look like the type that likes throwing dead animals around,” commented Hester while they were washing their hands for probably hundredth time. The albino girl actually looked amused, with a small smile on her lips and her red eyes sparkling with excitement. Hester wondered if she always looked this beautiful.

“Well, you certainly do.”

The Abred boys, standing nearby, weren't as happy with the events as the two girls were, their plan failing miserably and even worse, the two girls instantly gaining fearsome reputation. They all decided they had to take more drastic action before things get out of control.

Hester stopped trying to not get attached after that, because it was obviously too late, she enjoyed Ani's company too much.

They were walking to their next class, people looking at them curiously and avoiding them at all costs, because they've heard the fast spreading rumours. Suddenly, Dot walked to them, grabbed them by their wrists and led them away silently, her face, usually accompanied by a charming smile was now serious.

“What are you doing?” hissed Hester.

“Japeth told the teachers that you both are carrying cigarettes with you, which, I suppose, is true.”

“Like he isn't. And half of the school too. I bet they are not going to do anything about it anyway,” skepticised Anadil.

“They are coming. Now.”

“Where's the nearest trash can?”

“You can't throw them away, they are waiting near. They really want to get you into trouble.”

“Fuck,” said Hester. Her attempts to live through this year peacefully have been completely ruined the second she slapped Aric and she only now began to realise that. But she wasn't too unhappy about that, quiet waiting in the background was never her style. If they wanted war, she'd gladly give them war.

“I can hide them somewhere for you.”

Anadil looked at her, suspicious, but soon realising they didn't have any other choice.

The two girls handed their packs of cigarettes of her, while she quickly hid them in her oversized hoodie and walked away like nothing happened, the only problem was her expression, making it clear that she was nervous.

Not long after, two teachers stopped them, Japeth right behind them, smiling, proud of his victory. His smile slowly faded out. After a long search, nothing could be found.

Hester and Anadil could have walked away, but stood nearby, listening to every word the teachers said and watching his face become a mixture of annoyance and disappointment. They didn't try to hold back laughter.

Dot joined them soon after the teachers walked away. Japeth realised what happened. “You damn witches,” he blurted out before angrily walking towards his group.

“Thank you,” said Anadil after having the cigarettes returned.

Dot looked at Hester, expecting her to say something. She sighed, but then simply said “thank you”.

It obviously made Dot's mood better, because she started cheerfully lecturing them about the dangers of smoking and how they'll die before they are thirty. (To which Anadil replied “Hopefully.” and earned herself another lecture)

“Am I officially a part of your squad?”

“Squad?”

“Yes. Okay, maybe not a squad, that sounds weird.”

“If we are “damn witches”, we can call ourselves a coven,” suggested Hester, Anadil and Dot agreed instantly.

And the Coven was formed.


	4. Mean girls and even meaner fathers

Dot tried to catch up with Hester and Anadil, but of course, they were too busy talking to each other, probably not even noticing she was lagging behind. It was almost a month since Hester came to the school after injury and she expected she would actually get closer to her and Anadil over the course of time, yet it looked like they were merely tolerating her presence.

They never tried to talk to her first, she always had to chase them, they always made fun of her, they always acted like they didn't need her and she was just a necessary annoyance. But at least she finally wasn't totally on her own and they were intimidating enough for the bullies to leave her alone.

She was glad she didn't feel so lonely anymore, but sometimes, she doubted that they would actually miss her if she disappeared.

“Dot, hurry up, for god's sake!” called Hester and Dot obeyed, but then stopped when she saw a familiar face. Her father? What could he be doing in school? She tried to rethink all the possible options, but couldn't figure anything out. He was supposed to be in work. Perhaps something serious happened and he had to talk to her...

She checked her phone to see if he called her, but there was nothing. Puzzled, she wanted to talk to him, but he already entered Mr. Manley's office.

She suddenly realized what was this all about. She skipped all of his classes this year. Dread twisted in her gut as she realised how angry he'll be when he finds out, well, if he didn't already.

She didn't know what to do. Maybe she should tell Hester and Anadil and they'll help her somehow... She quickly dismissed the thought. Even if they wanted to, what could they do to help her?

She didn't like the idea of being confronted about it in school, especially because she didn't want people to see her crying, so she followed the other two girls to their next lesson, which was the last that day.

Dot couldn't focus, thinking about how her father might open the door and start yelling at her any second, but slowly, she calmed down. She was sure that her father has gone to work again, but he was waiting outside of classroom impatiently, obviously failing at attempts to hold back his anger, his fists clenched tigh and the vein on his forehead throbbing.

He didn't even try to get to a less public place, he just started screaming at her in the middle of the hall where everyone could see, which made it hundred times worse.

“You pathetic excuse for a daughter, do you think you can just decide to skip classes whenever you want? You are such a disappointment, no wonder your grades are so terrible, you stupid little-”

“I'm sorry, I just...” Dot was on the verge of crying. She tried to convince herself that this wasn't happening.

“Do I look like I care? Do you know how embarrassing is it to get a call from a teacher saying my daughter hasn't attended any Chemistry classes this year? Why do you even go to school? It's not like you are even going to accomplish anything in life! Well, you are right, you don't need Chemistry to end up in McDonalds!”

“I couldn't, I was scared and...”

“Scared of what exactly? Do you really want me to make this scary?”

“Are you going to actually listen to what is she saying?” said Hester, oddly quietly, yet there was a visible threat in her voice. Dot looked at her, surprised.

“This is none of your concern.”

“I'm pretty sure that you screaming at our friend makes it our concern too.” said Anadil. Dot couldn't help herself and smiled through tears at the word “friend”.

“Friend? Am I seriously supposed to believe that Dot has friends? Listen up, girls, if you don't want me to to contact your parents, you should mind your own business.”

Hester looked like she wanted to punch him, but Anadil grasped her wrist and held it tightly.

“I'm pretty sure you don't want to speak with our parents, considering you work for my grandmother,” said Anadil calmly.

His face whitened when he realised how obviously they were related.

“Well, this certainly isn't something to bother your grandma about, right?” he said, uneasy.

“It certainly is.”

Hester gently grabbed Dot's wrist and led her away.

Dot couldn't see properly, everything seemed like blur through her tears, but decided to trust her friends. Soon, they ended up walking out of school and sitting down on one of the cold, empty benches.

“Why didn't you come to the classes?” asked Anadil, her voice was nearly soft.

“I was scared.”

“Of what?”

“Some boys in that class used to bully me pretty badly and I just didn't want to go...”

“You should have just told us. I can be pretty scary when I want to,” said Hester.

“Even if you don't want to,” smirked Anadil.

“I thought you wouldn't care and I didn't want to be any more of a burden than I am now and you two are the baddest bitches in this school and I don't want to look weak in front of you because then you'll just abandon me like everyone else did and I just don't want to be alone anymore...” Dot broke down into tears again.

The other two looked at her, not knowing what to do.

“You are not a burden,” started Anadil, helplessly looking at Hester.

“And you aren't weak.”

“And we are not going to abandon you.”

“Even if we sometimes say we want to.”

“Really?”

“Really,” said Hester and Anadil at the same time. Dot smiled and pulled them into a hug, the two complaining loudly, but doing nothing to actually free themselves.

Dot's tears have already dried off when she pulled away. She smiled as cheerfully as always. “Why don't we go somewhere? I know you don't like that stuff, but I don't really want to come home right now.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Dot squealed happily. This was actually the first time they went somewhere together after school and she was going to make the most of it.

“We can go to my favourite café, it's just a short walk from here and they make the best chocolate and you'll totally love it.”

Nobody disagreed, so Dot led the way.

Soon, they entered a warm, cosy building with dimmed lighting. The sign on the front door read “Mariah's arrow”. Faint smell of coffee lingered in the air, accompanied by soft jazz music. Dot started chatting with barista behind the counter, middle aged woman with a smile that suspiciously resembled Dot's. Hester and Anadil exchanged quick looks, both noticing the same thing.

She ordered “the usual” for all of them, which turned out to be hot chocolate with a lot of marshmallow and rainbow sparkles. They chose a table in the furthest, most private corner of the room.

“Does my dad really work for your grandmother? He is the chief of the police. I didn't know he works for someone.”

“My grandma works for the government and pretty much manages the police.”

“So she could just fire my father anytime she wants?”

“Not really. And even if I told her to, she wouldn't listen to me. But mentioning her works as a good threat.”

“Dad looked really scared.”

“Everyone is scared of her.”

“Well, good for you.”

“Including me, of course.”

“How scary can someone's grandmother be?” asked Hester.

“You don't want to know.”

“Well, definitely not scarier than my dad.”

“Does he usually scream at you like that?”

“As long as I can remember, yes. He always thought I was a disappointment and never tried to hide it.”

“And your mother? She never said anything about it?”

“She left us soon after I was born... I often wish she was here. Maybe father would be different... He really loved her.”

Sooner than anyone could respond, the sound of shattering glass interrupted them.

“Sorry girls, don't mind me,” apologized the barista, who dropped one of the glasses on the floor while attempting to clean it.

“Wait, I'll help you,” said Dot, standing up quickly.

Hester and Anadil exchanged looks, having a long conversation without any words, both of them thinking the same thing.

When Dot returned, she continued cheerfully: “Marian is more of a mother than my mother has ever been. When she retires, she'll let me manage this café!”

After a while of talking, Dot suggested: “I suppose you two haven't watched Mean girls yet, right? Great, we can watch it together, I'm sure you'll like it!”

No one had better idea, so they stayed in the café till evening, watching Mean girls, which Hester and Anadil surprisingly liked, and then just talking about anything that came to their minds, probably the first time they all talked so openly.

Their nice moment was ruined when Anadil's phone rang. Hester could sense her rising anxiety as she apologised and left in hurry.

“I should probably go home too,” said Dot quietly. She tried to convince herself that everything will be alright, but she wanted to stay like this forever. Mariah's arrow was her safe place since she was a child. Mariah and Robin, the owners, were like the second parents for her, except for the fact that they never screamed at her or belittled her.

“You don't have to.”

“I can't avoid dad forever. I think he calmed down a bit already.”

“If you want, I'm not gonna stop you. Just let us know if everything is alright, okay?”

“Yes... We should start a groupchat! I can't believe we still don't have one!”

“That's not a bad idea... I can make one when I get home.”

After making the groupchat, Hester waited and waited. Neither of them were active. She kept telling herself that she didn't care, but soon realised that was a lie.

Finally, a new message popped up.

**_//Dot_ **

_Everything is alright_

_Thank you both for today_

_I don't know what I would to without you_

_❤︎❤︎❤︎_

_I'm going to sleep now_

Hester didn't know what to text back, so she just sat on her couch, smiling.

She waited more for a response from Anadil, but after few hours, she realised it probably wouldn't come. She slowly ended up drifting off to sleep, worries not leaving her mind.


	5. We look like a bunch of idiots

When Anadil saw her grandmother's name on the screen of her phone, she felt her heart jump, instantly realizing that she forgot something very important, but not knowing what. She quickly said goodbye and left, her mind racing, full of all the events that were supposed to happen that month.

Finally, she realized that she was supposed to attend a ball, which has already started.

“Fuck,” she whispered to herself while picking up the phone.

“Where are you?” Her grandma's voice was calm for anyone else hearing, but Anadil could hear how it was filled with anger.

“I'm sorry. I forgot about it; I'll be there soon.”

“No need to. It has already ended. We are going to have a talk after you come.”

She felt her anxiety increasing. She knew exactly what the talk is going to be like and she was terrified, wishing she could just never go home again and stay in the café forever.

But she couldn't and her only option now was to walk home. The little voice in her head doubted it, but she, as always, didn't listen to it.

Her walk home wasn't long, yet she had too much time to think about what will happen when she gets there, making herself even more nervous than she was before.

Her house looked perfect as always, not a single thing out of place. The servant taking care of the door let her in, not saying anything, but staring at her disapprovingly. She couldn't blame him. When her grandmother was angry, everyone suffered.

Anadil walked quietly through the hallways, quickly looking at herself in the mirror, but not finding any obvious flaws that her grandma could notice.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked at her door and then opened it almost instantly after.

Her grandmother was there, sitting behind her desk and awaiting her arrival, tapping her nails against the wooden surface. When Anadil came into the room, she abruptly stood up and, as always, gracefully walked to the door, locking it. There was no actual need for that, nobody would dare to interrupt them.

“Where were you?”

“I went studying with friends, we are writing an important test tomorrow,” Anadil lied, her face not moving even a slightest bit.

“Do you know how much are you embarrassing me? How dare you not attend such an important event! You should be grateful that Mr. Summerfield didn't consider that a personal offense.”

They both shared the ability to look completely unemotional when they wanted to, so their whole conversation, which could've been a screaming match if they were different people, sounded like a casual conversation about the weather.

“I'm really sorry.”

“Am I supposed to believe that?”

Anadil didn't answer, but her grandmother didn't actually care, too caught up in her own monologue.

“What did I ever do to deserve such a disappointment like you? I gave you everything, but you are never thankful. I should have given you to the orphanage when I had the chance, would actually spare me a lot of trouble.”

She moved her hand towards her, Anadil twitched at the rapid movement, but managed to stay still. Her grandmother grabbed her chin and forced her to make eye contact.

“You chose your friends over me. They are only using you to get better results on the test, but I suppose you already know that. Soon they'll grow tired of you. When will you learn? I'm the only person that will ever care about you. And yet you hurt me like this.”

She felt the grip on her chin tighten, beginning to be painful. She tried to pull away, but as soon as she was free, her grandmother grabbed both of her wrists and pushed them against the wall, leaving her unable to move. For a woman of her age, she was surprisingly strong, well, not like Anadil even tried to fight back.

“Guess you'll never learn. Don't worry about that though, I'll never stop trying to teach you. It's for your own good.”

Anadil just let it happen, as always.

Later, she was sitting on her bed, tears falling silently down her face as she rubbed ice all over bruises, forming all over her arms and legs, hoping that they will disappear before the next day comes.

She was tired, so tired, but she knew she can't fall asleep, or else the bruises are going to form fully, making them almost impossible to cover with any amount of makeup and strategically chosen dresses.

Everything hurt, both physically and mentally. She was tired of fighting.

She let sleep overtake her body.

...

All her attempts failed. The new bruises were a dark shade of purple, looking even more visible on her alabaster skin. Thankfully, her grandmother made sure to not hit her face too hard, so there was no visible damage done.

The same couldn't be said about the rest of her body, especially arms, filled with bruises of varying shapes and colours. No matter how much she tried, the bigger ones couldn't be covered and there were too much of them to look accidental.

She ended up walking to school with especially long sleeves, hoping that no one would notice anything. But, of course, someone did.

“What happened to you?” asked Hester when she noticed the huge bruises on her forearms.

“I fell.”

“On exactly the same place on your both arms?”

“It never happened to you?”

“Of course it never did, because it's physically impossible.”

She felt her hand on her sleeve and before she could resist, she felt it being pulled up.

“That must've been a terrible fall,” she commented, her fingers gently touching the all of Anadil's bruises, but soon noticed that the more that she touched her, the paler her fingers have become.

“Just tell me who did it to you.”

“No one.”

“Stop lying.”

“I'm not.”

“Ani. Stop it.”

“You stop it. This is none of your business.”

“Of course it is, I'm your friend and I want to know who's hurting you.”

“No one.”

“What is happening?” said Dot, who only now came to school, the first thing she saw was her friend's bruised forearm.

“Nothing.”

“We all know that it's not nothing, so you might as well just tell us.”

“And you might as well just mind your own business. Seriously. Stop it. If I say it's nothing, then it's nothing,” snapped Anadil.

The conversation ended after that, no one sure what to say next, but Anadil felt their worried glances thorough the day. It felt oddly nice, having people care about her, but she knew she couldn't tell them about what was happening. She couldn't imagine how angry would grandma be if she found out. She has always threatened her to kick her out if anybody noticed and Anadil didn't doubt even a bit that she is fully capable of doing that. Well, she was capable of anything.

She thought it will get forgotten soon.

After walking out of the school, she was waiting for the family driver to come pick her up, since her grandmother “couldn't trust her anymore after the unfortunate accident”. Dot and Hester approached her, looking oddly serious.

“Ani, we need to talk and you know it.”

“We're really worried about you.”

“Then stop, because there's nothing to be worried about.”

“Whatever. Don't tell us if you don't want to, but just so you know- we care about you and we'll be there for you no matter what,” said Dot.

The sentence was much more powerful than they could've imagined and Anadil felt tears trying to escape her eyes. She tried to hold them back, but couldn't because she was tired, so tired of holding everything in and trying to pretend that she is fine when in reality, she is just trying to hold onto the tiniest bit of sanity she has left and not break down completely.

“Are you crying?” asked Dot, surprised.

“Definitely not.” She tried to wipe away her tears, but more and more kept coming. She hated herself at that moment, feeling like the biggest failure alive, she could hear her grandmother's voice scolding her.

Desperately, she turned away and kept looking into the ground, hoping the feelings will disappear soon and she'll be able to keep her facade and they could all pretend this never happened.

Suddenly, she felt herself being pulled into a hug, awkward and stiff, but it's the thought that counts, right? The both girls held her tight and she finally felt at home, like everything might be fine and she could stay this way forever.

“Are you going to tell us now?” mumbled Dot.

“If I have to.”

“Then do so,” commanded Hester.

“Remember when I said my grandmother is terrifying? I was talking about this. According to her, this is the only way to teach me things. She got really mad yesterday because I was supposed to attend a ball and missed it accidentally. Usually I don't end up quite as bad as today.”

“I'm sorry,” said Dot quietly.

“What do you mean? For what?”

“If you didn't go to the café with me, you wouldn't have missed it and she wouldn't have hurt you and-” And now Dot was crying too.

“Of course it isn't, even if we didn't go anywhere, she would've found an excuse, oh god, stop crying,” Anadil tried to explain.

Hester was bad at comforting people. Really bad, but it was only logical, considering the fact that she never had too many friends, well, in her life she had exactly one.

But she really tried her best, softly rubbing the backs of her two friends, their teary faces pressed against her shoulders.

“Oh god, we look like a bunch of idiots,” said Anadil after a short while, finally calming down a bit.

“Only you two,” smiled Hester.

The hug broke.

“Ani, why do you just stay there? You could move out somewhere. If you want to, my apartment is big enough for both of us.”

“No, thank you. I don't want to live off your money and also, my grandma needs company. I owe it to her.”

“You don't owe her anything.”

“She chose to keep me after my parents died. If she didn't, I'd probably end up somewhere in an orphanage.”

“And that's the reason you tolerate all this?”

“She's my family and I love her. Even if she doesn't love me or doesn't care at all.”

“I understand you too well,” said Dot quietly.

“That's stupid.”

“But really, thanks for the offer. Maybe one day...”

“Only if you'll cook.”

The girls separated when a car parked near them and honked loudly to get Anadil's attention.

Anadil realized she probably never felt so happy before, even though she was still embarrassed from crying in public and losing her calm.

“Well, I sure can get used to this,” she thought while walking to the car awaiting her, on her face was a real smile, which was definitely a rare sight.


	6. Dancing ostrich roadhouse

Arbed boys didn't know forgiveness and they never forgot. Their attempts to get Hester out of school have quickly became more vicious every time they tried and failed. They soon began attacking the rest of her coven, yet somehow, they always seemed to pull through.

Rhian and Kei became tired from the endless attempts, not seeing the point of trying again and again, but Aric and Japeth were furious, shocked that somebody actually could resist them for so long, this was no mere highschool fight, for them, it was a war for honour.

...

The Coven were waiting for their chance. They watched Arbed's boys attempts with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. The 'attacks' were too repetitive to actually catch them off guard and pose a threat, yet the group of boys never stopped trying. They, of course, weren't going to just ignore them. They planned on something that would end this stupid war for once, hopefully as legal as possible.

It was an early Monday morning and they didn't share the first lesson.

Dot wasn't happy about being separated from the rest of her group, people didn't dare to bully her anymore, since the last time someone tried to, Hester detailly described the way she'd murder them if that happens again.

Dot appreciated it, but she felt like her safety was just temporary, like everything could turn against her any minute and she'll be back at the beginning again.

No matter how uneasy she was, she still had to admit that it felt nice having people actually avoid her. She never really wanted to be feared, but it's better to be feared then fear others, right?

She was usually anxious around large groups of people, but did her best hiding it behind a huge smile and fake cheerfulness, maybe she wasn't the best actress, but people usually failed to notice.

She made everyone comfortable to be around her, which has proved to be useful on many occasions, especially while unravelling Arbed boys' plans.

Before the class begun, a girl approached her. Her name was Kiko and she was one of the people that were actually nice to Dot, they even were quite good friends before, but later stopped talking, mainly because Kiko spent most of her time with her girlfriend Yara.

Speaking of that, where was she? Dot hasn't seen her in more than a week. And Kiko looked different too, her eyes tired and she wasn't smiling, which was highly unusual.

“Are you alright?”

“It doesn't matter now. Do you know about the student council elections?”

“Yes, of course. Do you want to candidate? If yes, then you have my vote!”

“No. Arbed boys would bully me out of the school. I'm saying you and your coven should.”

“What? Nobody would vote for us.”

“People will vote for anyone that is not Arbed boys and you're the only ones who aren't afraid of them. Please.”

Dot wanted to refuse, but Kiko looked like she was going to break down into tears.

“I'll see what we can do about it. I'm not promising anything, alright?” But Kiko was already pulling her into a hug.

“What happened to Yara?” asked Dot.

“The bullying got so bad she had to switch schools. Her parents decided it would be better if she moved to another town for a while, so she lives with her aunt now, all across the country from here.”

“I'm so sorry to hear that.”

“We are still call each other every day, but I miss her so much.” Kiko broke down into tears.

Something about that moment gave Dot the determination to win the elections, whatever it will take, because she knew the pain Yara must've been through too well.

After the class, she instantly told her friends about what happened.

“So you are saying we should apply for the student council?” asked Anadil with a raised eyebrow.

“And we need to win, of course.”

“Absolutely not. We stand no chance and I'm not going to embarrass myself because a random girl cried on your shoulder.”

“I don't think it's really that bad idea. We should at least think about it, Ani,” said Hester.

Dot looked at her, surprised and happy at the same time. If Hester agreed, Ani would definitely do the same eventually. It was actually quite rare that they had different opinion on something. They often acted like two parts of the same person.

“And who would vote for us? Arbed boys have no problem with beating up people who looked at them funny, imagine what will happen to the ones voting for us.”

“They can't beat up the whole school.”

“Maybe a quarter of the school actually participates in the elections and less than a half of that will vote for us, everyone else too afraid or Arbed boys' friends.”

“Kiko said they would vote for us because they need change.”

“And what exactly will we change? Do we design school T-shirts and it suddenly solves all of their problems?”

“It's about giving people hope,” argued Hester.

“Hope won't fix anything. We'll just become the laughingstock of the whole school, that's it.”

“That's stupid. Since when do you care about anyone's opinion? We have nothing to lose. Imagine how great it would be to win. We could totally beat them at their own game. It doesn't matter if we can actually make a change or not, the fact that they'll lose is important.”

“If you think so,” said Anadil, not convinced at all.

...

It was late at night when a message from Hester arrived, waking both of her friends up.

-Hester

Can y'all drive?

-Anadil

Yeah

Why?

-Hester

Can u pick me up

Please

-Anadil

I guess

Where are you

-Hester

Dancing Ostrich Roadhouse

-Anadil

Should I ask what are you doing at a bar?

-Hester

What do people usually do at a bar?

-Anadil

Fair enough

Give me 15 minutes

-Dot

Can I come too?

-Anadil

We are not going onto a trip

I'll just drive her home

-Dot

I'm coming anyway

-Hester

...

-Anadil

...

-Dot

We can go on a trip someday, right?

Dot didn't live too far from the bar, so she planned to walk all the way there, despite the merciless wind and low temperature. She wanted to leave the house without her father noticing, which would usually happen, but that night he was working on an especially difficult case, meaning that his mood was even worse than usually.

“Where are you going?” he asked loudly when she opened the door.

“I'm going out. With some friends.”

“Whatever. It's your decision to end up kidnapped and sex trafficked, although I doubt anybody would actually want you. You're too fat and ugly for that.” He didn't even bother to look at her while speaking.

“So you don't mind?”

“I don't give a fuck actually.”

She went out of the house without a word. All her attention shifted to not crying, she forgot to take her jacket, leaving her freezing. She considered returning back, but she knew how unpredictable her father's moods were and his current benevolence could be gone in seconds.

Thankfully, Anadil came to her rescue, stopping nearby.

“Seriously? You didn't even bring a jacket?”

“I forgot.”

“Do you live somewhere near?”

“Yes. Just around the corner.”

“Why don't you just return and take it then?”

“I just don't want to.”

“Oh. That's fine then. Get in before you freeze.” Dot smiled thankfully before getting in. The car was new and obviously extremely expensive, probably as everything around Anadil.

“Don't make a mess or my grandmother will kill me.”

“Does she know you're here?”

“Obviously not. Not like she cares anyway... She only remembers I exist when she needs a punching bag, that's it.”

“Does that happen often?”

“Not really I guess. Depends on what you consider often. She usually isn't home, but when she is... Her health is getting worse and she'll probably stay around for a month or two or maybe even more and I don't know... Doesn't matter.”

“You can talk to me if you want to.”

“Not in the mood for that, sorry.”

“That's fine too. Can I see what music do you have here?”

“If you want to.”

“Do you have anything that is not edgy?”

“Classical music for when I'm riding with grandma?”

“Oh god. Really? Nothing? Not even One direction? Everyone likes One direction.”

“There's a girl in red album.”

“Yes, that will do,” said Dot with satisfied smile after finding it. The tunes of a song slowly filled the car.

They arrived to see their friend, sitting on a half-broken bench, covered in graffiti, her face slightly red, yelling something at random bypassers, but smiling sincerely when she saw them.

“You're here! I'm soo happy to see you!” she exclaimed, her voice pitched more high than usually.

“It would definitely be nicer if it wasn't two in the morning,” groaned Anadil.

“You weren't sleeping anyways.”

“I was. Get in the car. It's freezing.”

Hester tried to stand up, but lost balance trying and almost fell, before two pairs of hands caught her.

“Can you even stand?” asked Anadil with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course I can!” Hester giggled a bit and tried to walk on her own, which she would probably manage to do, but she stumbled upon Anadil's leg.

“That wasn't my fault, your leg was in the way!” she tried to defend herself.

“Yeah, sure. Just get into the car or you'll hurt yourself.”

Hester suddenly wrapped her arms around her friends and layed her head on Anadil's shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Anadil asked calmly, but she was holding back a laugh.

“Nothing,” she smiled innocently. “Your hair smells good. And its sooo soft.” She started playing with it with one hand.

Anadil rolled her eyes, but did nothing to stop her.

Finally, they managed to get into the car. Hester spent five minutes talking about how fancy the car was, Anadil and Dot listened to her amusedly.

“If you vomit on my seats, I'm going to kill you,” warned Anadil.

“So, where are we going to go now?” asked Dot.

“We're going to get Hester to bed and then we'll go home.”

“Do we have to?”

“What else do you want to do?”

“I don't know...I just don't want to go home.”

“You can stay in my apartment if you want,” said Hester.

“Really? Thank you so much! Ani, do you want to come too?” Dot asked, curious how Anadil will react, this was the first time she actually called her Ani, but she didn't actually seem to notice.

“You can't invite people to house that's not your own.”

“You've got my permission,” said Hester.

“Well, you two are fully capable of burning the building down, so I guess you need supervision...”

“Is that a yes?”

“If you don't mind of course.”

“It's like a sleepover!” said Dot, her good mood returning.

Soon, they realised Hester's apartment wasn't suited for three people. It was impossible to sleep on the couch because of the mess on top of it, so they all ended up tucked on the bed, each one of them wanting as much personal space as possible, but not getting any.

Hester took the blankets, saying that she had the right to do so because it was her house. She tried to start a conversation, but other two girls were too sleepy. 

Dot was the first one to fall asleep, her loud snores filling the room. Anadil tried to get some sleep too, but couldn't, her mind being far too distracted, yet she couldn't figure out why.

“Ani? Talk to me. I can't sleep.”

Anadil turned around to look at her, but she forgot how little space was between them. Their faces were almost touching, she felt her warm breath on her skin and blood rushed to her face.

“You're blushing,” commented Hester with a smirk.

“It's hot in here.”

“Yeah, because you are in the room.”

Anadil wanted to say something, but she couldn't think of any words, so she blushed even harder and hoped Hester would forget the whole conversation the day after.

“You aren't talking at all,” complained Hester.

“I don't talk when I have nothing important to say.”

“You should. You have a nice voice.”

“And you should go to sleep. You're drunk.”

“Maybe. But that doesn't mean I am lying, does it?”

Anadil didn't respond again. Slowly, her eyes begun to close, her tiredness taking over...

“Ani?”

“What is it?”

“I'm cold.”

“You've got two blankets on you. How can you possibly be cold?”

“I just am. Can I cuddle with you?”

“Well, sure, I guess.” Anadil wasn't used to Hester being touchy and nice, but it definitely wasn't a bad thing.

She felt Hester move on the bed silently, making the small distance between them even smaller, then her warm breath tickling on her neck.

Hester wrapped her arms around Ani's waist, she could hear her heart beat like crazy while she comfortably rested her head against her chest. Slowly, the beat became steadier and Hester started falling asleep.

The last thing she remember was Ani's soft hand gently running through her hair, sometimes brushing against her cheek.

Indeed, she had very nice dreams that night.


	7. Panick attacks and motorcycle rides

“Are you guys free this Friday?” asked Anadil one morning, making sure to sound as casual as if she was talking about weather, carefully not displaying the anxiety she felt.

“Yes, I guess. Why?”

“I have a dance performance. Everyone's gotten two tickets and we have to invite someone. I thought maybe you'd like to come.”

“Wow, you dance? That's so cool, I would have never guessed! It'll be awesome to see you!” said Dot, excited.

“I actually expected it, you walk like a dancer. But yes, it sounds nice. I don't have anything better to do anyway.”

Anadil didn't actually expect them to say yes. She was used to all kinds of excuses, coming from everyone around her. Her grandmother refused to go, saying it's too slutty and embarrassing for their whole family. It was quite a miracle she even allowed her to attend the lessons, but the reason was probably the fact that Anadil's mother has enrolled her there few months before her death.

She tried inviting some of the servants, but with no success. They basically raised her, but never considered her their child and made it clear.

And maybe it was better that way, she thought. She never felt so nervous before, maybe because there were no familiar faces in the crowd, who came because of her. Here it was again, her fear of disappointing everyone, stronger than ever.

She didn't know if she was trembling from cold or anxiety, or perhaps both. She was waiting for them at the front gates of her dance school.

Hester arrived first, parking her well-kept, red motorbike near. She obviously stood out of the crowd in every possible way, but she didn't seem to mind even a slightest bit.

When Anadil said they should wear formal clothes, she expected them to wear dresses, but she definitely didn't mind Hester wearing a suit, especially when she looked so good in it-

Hester caught her stare and grinned.

“There's definitely a lot of people here.”

“It's basically the whole dance school. Around hundred people and then guests. Some people bring their entire family.”

“Didn't you get only two tickets?”

“Everyone got two, but some people gave their up, so people who actually needed them used them.” She soon realised what she said.

“So you didn't have to invite us,” said Hester, smirking.

Before Anadil could actually think of an answer, Dot chirped in: “Sorry for being late, I got lost.” She was wearing a bright pink nightgown with small sparkles, looking like a fairy-tale princess.

“Are we going inside? I'm cold,” she added.

They all agreed an hurried inside as soon as possible. Many people still weren't there, so they had the freedom of choosing their seats.

They didn't get much time to talk. A beautiful girl with short, blond hair approached them soon, hugging Anadil and planting a small kiss on her cheek.

Hester tried to convince herself that she wasn't jealous, but she, in fact, was.

“Hey Ani, I haven't seen for a long time, have you been skipping practices? Hopefully you're ready for today. I'm so nervous!”

“I've had to move them to another time because of school. Don't be nervous, you're going to do great, as always.”

“Well, I've practiced a lot and everything, but I feel like I'm going to screw everything up. My whole family came to see me.”

“Don't worry too much. Anyways, you look great tonight.”

“Yes, of course, Reena did the costume, I'm trying to convince her to start doing them for the whole school. She is so talented!”

“She sure is.”

“Why aren't you dressed yet? Come on, we have only half an hour left. I'll do your make-up.”

“If you want. Give me a moment, please.”

“I'll wait for you in the dressing rooms!”

Soon after she left, Hester asked: “Who was that?”

“Beatrix. My ex-girlfriend and a childhood friend.”

“Ex-girlfriend? I didn't know you were into girls,” said Dot curiously.

“You didn't ask. Besides, who would even like boys?”

“Even girls who like boys don't like boys. Well, you two seemed to be quite close.”

“Well, I do-” started Dot, but was soon interrupted.

“We broke up on good terms. She wanted to focus more on school and dance and felt like she didn't spend enough time with me. Well, at least that's what she said. She started dating Reena two months later.”

“Oh.”

“It's fine, really. Not worth staying upset about. I'm happy for her... and I should probably go.”

Hester tried to pass time until the performances start by making fun of people walking by with Dot, but Dot just was too kind for that and then Hester realised it's only fun when she was with Ani and the thought of her brought the picture of Beatrix kissing her cheek to her mind and she definitely didn't want to think about that.

Finally, the performances started. All the dancers were good, even if Hester didn't want to admit that, Beatrix was brilliant, probably the best performance so far. But she and Dot didn't really care for the rest of the dancers, there were waiting to see the one person they came there for.

And finally, almost at the end she appeared, they almost didn't recognise her at first. There was nothing of her cold quietness left, instead there was sheer confidence, accompanied by a small smile.

Her hair, probably for the first time ever, wasn't falling into her face, but instead was in two buns, making her face stand out more. Beatrix did only a simple, natural look on her, she didn't really need anything more, she was striking, maybe not in the usual way, more like an ice sculpture, sharp around the edges, but still a masterpiece.

If somebody was not staring at her before, they sure started when she started dancing. She knew exactly what she was doing, her moves perfectly in sync with the rhythm of the song, Break the ice, which seemed oddly fitting to the situation.

When she was dancing, she was able to ignore the gazes of everyone, fixed upon her. Everything seemed to be easier that way, there was nothing but her and the music, for a moment she could forget everything.

After she ended, she received a long round of applause. Smiling awkwardly, she bowed and left.

...

Hester and Dot were impatiently waiting near the changing rooms, nobody except for Beatrix and Reena, who were making out near them.

“If Ani doesn't come soon, I'm going to puke,” commented Hester loudly, glaring at the couple, who've obviously heard her, but continued anyway.

“Aww come on, I think they are cute. It's sweet to see people being in love.”

“They can be in love in places where nobody sees them.”

“And what if they can't? How can we possibly know? Besides, have you never felt like you wanted to kiss somebody every second of being together with them?”

That shut Hester up, because it hit too close to home, there were times when she and Agatha were just like that. Surprisingly, the memory of her has gotten less painful over time. Yes, she still regretted it and she couldn't help the feeling of sadness washing over her, but it wasn't as overbearing as before.

It wasn't the best possible decision. But it was best for the both of them, Hester always wanted to start again, free from her past and the memories her hometown brought and Agatha could finally start solving her own problems instead. Well, she would probably just switch her focus onto Sophie, her sister.

Finally, Anadil came, interrupting them before Hester could get completely lost in thoughts. She was dressed up in her usual clothes, but she still kept her hair in buns, although a lot messier than before.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting. Uhm, did you like the performances?” she asked.

“They were all awesome! But you definitely were the best. No offense to the others, of course,” said Dot, looking at Beatrix to figure out if she was listening or not. “You are really talented; you should join a dance competition and then you'll win it and become famous and then I'll bragging to everyone to tell them that you're my friend and you could bring me to some celebrity balls or whatever they have and-”

“Jeez, stop it, I definitely wasn't that good. I did okay, I guess, but let's not overdramatise.”

“No need to be so humble, I don't know shit about dancing, but you definitely did much better than all the others. Also, you should do your hair like this more often. Doesn't look too bad, even though it's weird to actually see your whole face for once,” said Hester.

“Well, thank you,” muttered Anadil. She only now started realising that she wasn't used to praise at all.

It all felt like a huge lie, like they were just making fun of her. She expected to find a hidden meaning behind their words, mocking her, just as her grandmother always did when she said something that could sound nice. There was nothing and that made her even more nervous.

She felt panic rising inside of her. 'Oh god, not now,' she thought.

Although Anadil was very good at hiding emotions, she was absolutely terrible at dealing with them, her only strategy was ignoring them until they all grouped up and became a real problem, leading to numerous panic attacks. She managed to get through them, most happened at the safety of her room. The less fortunate were usually in bathrooms of large social events and were a real nightmare, not only she was struggling to even breathe and not pass out on the floor, she had to stay as quiet as possible, otherwise her grandmother would have found out and punished her for “embarrassing” her.

She managed to push all the negative emotions aside for a while. While exiting the room, she looked at Beatrix and Reena for the last time.

“I'm happy for her,” she repeated to herself silently, even though she would be much happier if she was with her...

The only thing Anadil wanted was to finally be good enough for somebody, to finally not be so alone. She's got Hester and Dot, yes, but how long will it take for them to get tired of her and leave her for somebody better?

She didn't want them to go, she just cared too much, but it seemed like a certainty for her. She couldn't figure out what did they want for her, but was sure that when they get it, they'll be more than happy to go. Just like grandma always said, she'll never be more than a tool for somebody to use and then then leave...

“Is everything alright?” asked Hester, worried, noticing Anadil's absent stare.

She wanted to say yes, but she couldn't say anything, the intense panic striking her suddenly, the words stuck in her throat, she tried to breathe, but felt like she couldn't, she desperately gasped for air, her head spinning along with everything around her.

Dot stared at her, shocked, unsure about what to do, but Hester, fortunately, had plenty of experience.

“Hey. It's going to be alright. Just take deep breaths and try to focus on one thing, okay?”

Anadil really tried to, but some things are easier said than done. She was able to breathe, but her breaths were short and shallow and she felt like she was lacking oxygen and was so sure she was going to die...

“Come on, we need to go somewhere with less people,” said Hester, reaching her hand out to Anadil, who was trying to keep track of what's happening, but it was all too much, too much noise, too many bright lights, too many people watching them.

People were watching them. The realisation made her feel million times worse, she hated people seeing her showing weakness, it made her feel even more of a disappointment than she already considered herself. She didn't mind Hester and Dot seeing her, but now too many people were watching her desperately trying to breathe while mascara was running down her face along with tears, leaving black trials.

“Come on,” repeated Hester softly. Anadil accepted her hand and let her lead her.

Soon they sat on a curb in a dark, empty street, where nothing distracted her. Anadil didn't feel any better though, the feeling of nothing being under her control was still there.

“You're going to have to breathe, okay? Don't worry. Everything is going to be alright. Trust me, okay? Breathe with me now.”

Anadil tried to copy her slow, steady rhythm of breaths. It was hard at first, but slowly, she regained more and more control over her actions and it became easier.

Slowly, their breathing was in sync and the panic began to disappear.

“Better now?”

Anadil slowly nodded. “Thank you. I have no idea what I would've done without you.” Her voice was still a little bit shaky, but she managed to regain her calm again and tried to wipe away the black trials from her face.

“Sorry. For everything. I didn't want to break down like this.”

“Don't worry, that's absolutely fine,” said Dot.

Anadil managed to find some wet wipes and clean her face. “Where did you learn what to do in situations like this?” she asked.

“Plenty of personal experience, unfortunately. I can teach you a thing or two if you want.”

“Yeah, that'll be nice.”

Suddenly, Anadil hugged Hester. Dot realised how quickly they both went from hating any form of physical contact to actually seeking it. Well, the only problem was that it was always just the two of them. And Dot couldn't help it, but felt left out. They were always there for each other, being so close they basically read each other's thoughts...

And there was Dot, just standing there, trying to be happy for them. She wished to be helpful for once, to be the friend they could depend on. But of course, she just had to panic when Ani needed help. She just felt so useless, like she was just giving people reason to not like her.

Then she felt a cold arm grab her and pull her into the hug too. She was surprised at first, but the relaxed, all of her doubts going away for a while...

It didn't take too long before Dot suddenly separated.

“Sorry, I've got to go. I have to be at home before eleven. Are you going to be fine?”

“Yes, of course. Thank you for being here for me.”

“Well, I didn't do anything.”

“Doesn't matter.”

After Dot left, they looked at each other, unsure about what to do next.

“Want to go for a ride?” proposed Hester, tilting her head slightly towards her motorbike.

“Sure. Where are we going to go?”

“That's a surprise,” Hester grinned, handing her the helmet and then seating herself.

“Aren't you going to wear one too?”

“I've only brought one.”

“You should wear it then.”

“No, what if we crash? I don't want anything to happen to you.”

“Rather me then you. Just don't crash. Easy.”

“Like that's something I have control over.”

“Just take it.”

“No.”

They stared at each other for a while, maintaining eye contact the whole time, stubbornly waiting for each other to back down.

“Fuck it, at least we'll die together,” sighed Hester.

“Good.”

The road was almost empty, soft breeze was blowing through their hair, faint scent of salt in the air strengthened the closer they were to the sea.

Hester knew exactly what she was doing, she chose a road so close to the ocean because she knew how beautiful it was at night. The stars reflected on the surface, their dim glow moving with waves. The city was quiet, as if the whole universe decided to stop to let them enjoy their moment.

Their bodies pressed together, Hester could feel Anadil's breath on her neck and her hands wrapped around her waist, her grip tightening every time she sped up a bit.

When they arrived, neither of them wanted to separate, but wouldn't admit it out loud.

The place Hester chose was a cliff which not many people knew about. It wasn’t too far from the city, but it was far enough, so the neon lights and noise wouldn't get to them.

“I never knew this place existed,” said Anadil.

“Well, that's good. The more people know this place exists, the less privacy I'll have.”

“For someone who moved in recently you know a lot about this city.”

“It's been three months.”

“You seem to know a lot more from these three months than I know from eighteen years. Well, I don't really spend much time outside. Or even somewhere outside my room, really.”

“I don't spend much time at home. I usually have trouble sleeping, so I go for a ride.”

“Well, that's nice. If you didn't mind, would you take me with you someday?”

“Sure. Come on, this isn't everything.”

Hester took her hand and started pulling her towards the edge of the cliff. Normally, Anadil wouldn't let people touch her and definitely not hold her hand, but with her, it just felt right.

“If you push me down, I'm taking you with me,” warned Anadil, though she trusted that she wouldn't do that.

They sat down, their legs hanging from the edge. The place was beautiful, the wild, natural kind that can't be described or even photographed.

They just stared at the sea, neither of them letting go of the other girl's hand.


	8. T is for trauma

Dot woke up in especially good mood, which was unusual for her. Most mornings, she was just miserable and had to force herself to get out of her bed.

She decided to take advantage of her unexpected happiness by doing something she wanted to do for a very long time. She decided to wear a simple yellow crop-top, which lied in her closet for more than a month, but she never gathered the courage to wear it in public.

Scared of how it'll look like, she walked towards the mirror. The result surprised her in the best possible way, making her smile. The colour brought out her best facial features, especially her smile and added light to her chocolate brown eyes.

“Why didn't I wear it sooner?” she asked herself.

Dot hopped to the kitchen, smiling brightly, hoping that her father has gone to work already. He hasn't.

“Are you wearing that to school?” he asked.

“Yes... Is there something wrong about it?”

“Things like that are for skinny girls only. Nobody wants to see that.”

And all that was left of her good mood was suddenly gone. “I should go and change.”

He nodded and went back to reading newspaper.

“I guess today isn't the right day either. Who am I kidding, I should just donate it to charity,” she thought.

When she returned, she was wearing a brown, oversized sweater. Her father was cooking pancakes, which were usually one of her favourite foods, but she couldn't imagine eating in that moment.

“I'm not hungry,” she announced.

“Because you eat too much. Skipping breakfast won't kill you.”

Soon, Dot left, tears dripping down her face.

...

The Coven was working on their campaign. The first step was simple- bringing something everyone loved. They needed to decide between puppies and cookies, but Hester was allergic to dogs, so the choice was obvious.

Anadil ended up baking, and by the looks of it, she did a great job. The plan was to give them to bypassing students, hopefully making them vote for their favour.

When Dot came, Hester and Anadil were waiting for her at the table, whispering to each other, so they didn't notice her at first.

“Wow, they look delicious!” she chirped as she seated herself alongside her friends.

“Take one if you want,” offered Anadil.

“No, thank you.”

“I didn't poison them or something. Although, that doesn't sound like a bad idea.”

“I'm just not hungry.”

“Jeez, since when do you refuse cookies? Who will test if they don't have some terrific side effects if not you?” smirked Anadil.

Dot, in fact, was starving, only now realising she has also skipped dinner because of Ani's performance. She wanted to ignore the feeling, but the sound of her empty stomach betrayed her.

“Not hungry, huh?” Anadil remarked with a raised eyebrow.

Dot didn't respond, staring at the ceiling instead.

“Okay, what is going on?” asked Hester, concerned.

Dot wasn't good at holding emotions inside of her, she could already feel tears forming in her eyes, but she stubbornly tried to hold them back.

“I just don't want to eat now. Maybe I'll lose weight and then I'll be beautiful and could wear all the pretty clothes,” she said, trying to not sob, but failing.

“Dot, what are you talking about? You don't need to lose weight to be beautiful. And even if you wanted to, starving yourself definitely wouldn't help,” said Anadil.

“Did your asshole of a father say something again? God, I'll fucking kill him the next time I see him,” threatened Hester.

“Invite me so I could watch,” muttered Anadil.

“I wanted to wear something and he said I couldn't because I was too fat and I guess he was right but I think I looked good and I just want to wear anything I want without having to worry...” Dot blurted out.

“The important part is that you liked it. Don't listen to his stupid opinions. He just wants to make you feel bad so he isn't so insecure about himself. Fuck him, honestly.”

Dot though about it for a while and then slowly nodded. “I think you're right. And I really am hungry.”

She took one of the cookies and then another and another. “Wow, they are so good! Why don't you bake more often?”

Anadil smiled a bit. “I don't have time for that.”

“Wait, I'm so sorry, they were supposed to be for the others,” apologised Dot.

“It's fine. It's not that hard to bake more. Just take as much as you want,” shrugged Anadil, just glad she has done something to make her friend happy.

...

The next step in their campaign was simple- posters. Hester was basically their sole designer, Anadil and Dot agreeing on anything she showed them. She didn't really mind though, she preferred to work without having to listen to other people's opinions.

Hester didn't even try to be humble; she knew that she did an amazing job. She was always talented in everything concerning art, whether it was doodles in her notebooks, painting or designing stuff.

The only problem left was to get the posters printed, because they were too big for a normal printer. Dot said she had a friend, who worked in a copy and print store and insisted that they should go there.

And so here they were, walking through one of the most dangerous parts of the town with Dot leading them, slowly realising she has no sense of orientation.

“I'll murder you if somebody tries to kill us,” muttered Anadil, suspiciously staring at people walking by.

“Don't be such a pessimist, we'll be just fine,” said Dot.

Hester groaned. “Every time you have an idea, I think it can't get any worse, but you always manage to surprise me.”

“What's so bad about this? You didn't have to come here if you didn't want to.”

“Yeah, like we'd let you walk here all alone,” said Hester.

“That's sweet of you, but there's nothing dangerous here...”

“A man got murdered here yesterday,” remarked Anadil.

“Maybe they've got a one murder per week limit,” snickered Hester.

“You spend too much time on the internet. People living here are nice, it's just the few bad ones that ruin their reputation.”

“Tough luck if you meet one of the bad ones.”

“Besides, other shops are way too expensive.”

“We should've just sold your kidney.”

Dot suddenly stopped walking and started looking around.

“What is it?”

“The shop was supposed to be here. I guess we missed a turn or something.”

“WE WHAT?!” asked Hester.

“Don't worry, we'll find it soon.”

They didn't find it soon. After fifteen minutes of confused walking and sarcastic comments, Hester lost her patience and went to ask the first person they saw for directions.

The man explained the way and then stretched his hand towards them in expectation of money, but Hester was already walking away, Anadil right behind her.

Dot sighed and handed him a five-dollar bill, then chased after her two friends.

“You didn't give him anything,” remarked Dot.

“And? If he wanted money, he should have said sooner. How was I supposed to know?”

“It's basic kindness.”

“You can't be nice to everyone.”

“You aren't nice to anyone. Okay, maybe except to Ani.”

“It's not my fault everyone else is annoying.”

“How sweet,” smirked Anadil.

Their talking was suddenly interrupted by a horrifying shriek of a tortured cat. They soon found the source, a group of ten people around their age cornered a street cat and threw sharp stones at it. The bleeding animal desperately tried to escape, but it stood no chance, there were too many of them, blocking every possible escape route.

The girls didn't even talk before deciding what to do next, all of them thinking about the same thing.

Before Hester and Anadil could do something, Dot jumped in front of the cat, shielding it with her body. Some stones hit her, scratching her and leaving painful red marks, before people realised that she was there too.

“Mind your own business,” said one of them, his voice threatening.

“Leave the poor cat alone,” said Dot.

“Listen, I've got a knife. And if you don't leave, I'm not going to hesitate,” said one of the boys, pulling out a small, pocket knife.

Hester grinned. “Only one? Amateur.”

She took one of the sides of her coat, revealing many knives of different shapes and sizes, which made them step back slowly.

The smarter ones were already leaving, soon followed by their less bright friends.

“Holy shit, I'm in love,” whispered one girl watching Hester, before being dragged away by her friends. Anadil couldn't help herself but agree.

The rest of the group quickly ran off too.

“That was incredibly stupid,” commented Hester.

“Never do something like this again,” added Anadil.

“Aww, are you worried about me?” giggled Dot, trying to ignore the pain.

“No,” said the other two girls at the same time.

“Are we going to keep the cat?”

“We?”

“Well, dad hates animals, so I thought maybe one of you could take her of her.”

“I can't, I have rats.”

“I will,” said Hester.

But soon after that, the cat swiftly jumped from Dot's arms, looked at them and ran away into the shadows.

“Do you think she'll be alright? What if they hurt her again?”

“It's still her decision to stay here,” said Hester.

Dot sadly watched the cat run away. “I guess we can't stop her.”

When they finally got to the shop, Hester remarked: “Everything could've been easier if you chose a place that could be found with Google maps.”

Dot ignored her and opened the door to the shop. It was empty, except for one weasel-faced boy, sitting behind the cashier's desk, unamusedly looking at his phone.

When he noticed Dot, he smiled, but his smile turned from friendly to awkward in the moment when he saw Hester and Anadil.

“You didn't say you're going to bring friends.”

“I didn't really plan to, but they insisted,” said Dot.

“Yeah, sure,” snorted Hester.

“Okay, so this is Hort, my best friend, Hort, this is Hester and this is Anadil.”

“Pleased to meet you,” said Anadil, while showing no signs of actually being pleased to meet him. Hester looked at him sceptically.

“Okay, so, can we print the posters now?” asked Dot.

“Yes, give me a second, I'll get it ready for you,” said Hort.

After a while, they were standing in front of the shop, Hester carrying a bag full of posters.

“You never told us about him,” started Hester.

“Oh, so I must tell you about every person that I ever talked to? It's not like you or Ani tell me everything. Actually, it's not like you told us anything about yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you think I mean? You never tell us anything, but expect us to tell you everything.”

Hester looked at Ani for help, but she didn't say anything, she just stared at her, curious.

“Maybe I don't want to talk about that.”

“If you haven't noticed, neither of us likes to talk about their families, but we still did,” said Anadil.

“Seriously?” groaned Hester.

“We don't want to force you to say anything. We're just curious,” added Dot.

Hester wanted to argue, to tell them that's none of their business, but then she felt a sting of guilt. She made sure to not tell them anything at all, but perhaps they've deserved to know at least something,

She took a deep breath and then she said: “Fine. But somewhere more private.”

“Maybe we could go to...” started Dot, but Hester interrupted her by pointing to a nearby ladder.

“You can't just climb onto someone's roof,” protested Dot.

Hester grinned: “Watch me.”

She put the bag, full of posters, on the ground and started climbing, Anadil following soon after her.

“That's probably illegal,” objected Dot.

“That makes it even better.”

Dot shook her head in disappointment, but didn't want to be left behind, so she followed after them.

The place was higher than she expected and she felt dizzy just by looking down, but Anadil and Hester clearly didn't mind, already sitting on the edge and talking.

She quickly joined them, trying to pretend that she isn't scared of falling.

“Uhm. So. How detailed should I make it?”

“Doesn't matter.”

“Basically, two years ago, my house caught on fire. With me and my mom in it. Mom didn't make it, I did. Well, I've got a pretty bad scar. The tattoo is a cover up.” She pointed to the tattoo on her neck. The artist did an impressive job, the scar almost wasn't visible until someone took a very close look or touched it.

Hester never let anyone do it, but she considered giving Dot and Anadil an exception. Fortunately, they didn't ask her to do so.

“And then my mental health went to shit and I became a very edgy teen. Pretty much everyone hated me except for my girlfriend, Agatha, who tried desperately to help me, so she ended up cleaning my mess everyone time I've done something stupid. Really, she stayed with me through everything.”

She paused for a bit.

“And then I've gotten into a motorbike crash. I ended up being okay, the other person not so much. He almost died. It was a miracle he survived. I ended up even more fucked up mentally, well, if that was possible. Bought some sketchy drugs from a street dealer, ended up almost overdosing. Then I've realised I should probably get my life together. So I've broken up with my girlfriend and then moved across the whole country without leaving a trace like a total asshole. That's pretty much it. Time to judge me.”

“I'm so sorry that happened to you,” said Anadil quietly.

“And we aren't judging you,” added Dot.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Everyone has done some pretty terrible things in the past.”

“Not this terrible.”

“Jeez, you aren't some sort of a monster. I hope you know it.”

“And we still love you. Even though I feel pretty bad for Agatha,” added Dot.

“Really?” asked Hester.

“Of course,” said the other two girls at the same time.

“Good. We definitely aren't going to hug and cry, okay?”


	9. Oh my god, they were roommates

The elections were being held the next day and the Coven finally got their moment of peace. The last two weeks were frantic for them, there were too many things that needed to be done, too many pre-elections debates to do and posters to hang.

Now they didn't need to do anything, just hope for the best. They spent the whole afternoon talking in an empty classroom and drinking terrible automat coffee. It was one of these moments that last painfully short time and it was already time to go.

They were behind the school gates when Dot remembered that she forgot her scarf. Her friends sighed, but waited for her patiently, leaning against the school fence, as she walked towards the school.

“You can't walk any slower?” Hester called out to her, which made her slow down even more.

Hester sighed and turned to Anadil, who looked just as unamused as usually. A leaf fell into her hair, one of the last ones that were still hanging on the trees, but she failed to notice.

“You've got something in your hair.”

“Take it out then.”

Hester sighed and did so, her hand accidentally brushing against her face in the process. Their eyes met for a second, but then they quickly looked away, staring everywhere but the other girl's face.

Hester couldn't help herself, her interactions with Ani became more awkward since the night they spent on the cliff. She couldn't just get it out of her head. She could still feel the softness of her skin, the gentle warmth she felt when she was leaning against her as they listened to the sound of ocean together.

And she has been craving to kiss her, to find out if her lips were just as soft as her hands, to play with her hair once more...

Hester believed that all the best choices are made in the spur of the moment and for some reason, she was feeling brave, so she said: “I hate you less than the other people.”

And then she instantly regretted that.

“Sweet,” smirked Anadil.

“I'm trying to say that, you, uhm, are hella cool.” Hester wanted to slap herself.

“Thanks, you too,” Anadil seemed to be amused at her terrible attempts to confess.

“You aren't helping!” groaned Hester.

“Helping with what?”

Hester took a deep breath and then blurted out: “Basically you are amazing as fuck and I like you quite a lot and I want to kiss you right now.”

“Do it then, coward.” And before Hester could actually do it, Anadil gently pulled her closer and waited, as if she was giving her space to back down, but Hester had no intention in doing so, she waited for the moment for way too long. She wrapped her hands around her waist, erasing the small space between them and their lips finally connected.

Their first kiss was small and quick and sweet, but the second they separated, they knew it wasn't enough and they kissed again and again, losing track of time, the only thing they could feel was the softness of each other's lips, their foreheads pressing together and hands intertwined and they didn't need anything else to be happy, just being together was enough.

They were soon interrupted by Dot's loud squealing. “I knew it!”

They pulled away from each other, their cheeks a dark shade of red.

“For how long have you been dating?” asked Dot.

“What-”

“We aren't-”

They looked at each other.

“Well, maybe we could-”

“If you want to-”

“Of course I want to!”

“Okay, girlfriend.”

“Wait, you only started dating right now? I suspected that for months! Congratulations!”

Before she could hug them, loud car honking interrupted them. They looked around to see Anadil's driver in the car, obviously waiting for her.

“Fuck. How long has he been here?” Anadil's good mood and small smile was gone, her face was once again an impenetrable facade.

“I think he saw everything,” said Dot, remembering that the car was clearly there when she was returning.

“Oh god. Well, I guess I have to go.”

“He isn't going to tell your grandmother, right?” asked Dot.

“He probably will.”

“Will you get in trouble?”

“If she finds out? Definitely.”

“Don't go then.”

“It won't be the end of the world.”

“I'm not letting you go.”

“You have to.” Anadil shook her head and slipped away from their hands, smiling softly before entering the car and leaving.

Hester and Dot stared at the car, receding into the distance.

...

Soon after Hester came home and began studying, her phone rang. She smiled a bit when she saw who was calling, still happy about the fact that Ani was now her girlfriend.

But then she realized she wouldn't call if it wasn't something important, she always preferred texting.

“Ani? Is everything alright? What happened?”

“I...got kicked out of the house.”

“What?!”

“The driver told her everything. I begged him not to. I guess that bastard thought it'll improve his position.” She took a deep breath. “Did you really mean it when you said I could move in with you?”

Hester never heard her sound so defeated. She just wanted to tell her everything is going to be fine and take her far away from her family and then murder her grandmother...

“Of course. Should I come pick you up or help you with something?”

“No, I'll be there soon.”

And she was. Hester has never seen her look so tired and defeated, her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She was carrying a small suitcase; her rats were peeking out of her pockets curiously. Ani was always a bit taller than her, but now she seemed so small.

“I'm so sorry,” she said, her voice was almost a whisper, cracking a little bit.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. Come in,” Hester said softly.

“I don't want to cause you much trouble, I have some money saved up and I can start a part time job and...” Tears started dripping from her eyes before she could do anything to stop them.

Hester gently placed her finger on Ani's lips. “Don't worry about it now, okay? There's plenty of time to talk about that.” She took her hand and walked he to the couch.

“Would you like some tea?” she asked, trying to figure out what to do.

“No, thanks.”

Hester looked at her, frustrated by her sudden inability to say something clever.

“I'm really sorry about what happened. I don't know what to say to make you feel better...”

“Doesn't matter. You don't need to say anything. Just stay here with me. Please.”

“I don't understa-” Anadil pointed to place next to her. “Oh.”

When she sat down, Anadil started talking. “I just... don't get it. I thought she needed me. Or at least wanted to have me there, even in a slightest bit. That maybe she cared and actually just wanted the best for me. I thought it was supposed to be the only safe place in the world... Well, it was never exactly safe, was it?” She smiled, sorrow filling her face.

“It's going to be better this way. She can't hurt you anymore. You are safe now.”

“What if she was right and I deserved all of this? She said she's the only person that won't abandon me after getting tired of me, but she did. After you'll get to know me better, you'll soon do the same. And I'll be alone again. God, I don't want to be alone again.”

“I'm never going to get tired of you.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I just know. Trust me.”

And she did and for once in her life, she didn't regret it.

...

Dot was almost home when she got the message: “Ani got kicked out of the house. She's with me now.”

“Is she alright?”

“Yes. Pretty much.”

And then Dot got an idea. What if she left too? Her father couldn't stop her even if he wanted to, she legally had the right to leave.

She quickly dismissed the thought. She didn't want to cause her friends any trouble.

With a sigh, she opened the door. Her father was looking out of the window, holding a cup of tea, but when he noticed her presence, he thoroughly examined her.

“Where's your scarf?” he asked. She hoped that he wouldn't notice it was missing, he rarely paid attention to her.

“I think I've lost it,” she admitted. He dropped the cup onto the floor, shattering it to tiny pieces.

“How could you?”

“I'm really sorry, it was an accident.” She didn't understand what was so special about the scarf. It's not like she was losing stuff often and it surely wasn't expensive...

“It belonged to your mother!”

“I'm really sorry.”

“Your sorry doesn't fix anything. You lost the tiny bit of her I still have left,” he started raising his voice. “Do you know how hard was it for me when she left?”

Dot was tired of always listening about how her mother's departure hurt him so much. It's like he didn't even acknowledge the fact he had a daughter. “You aren't the only person she left behind.”

Her father stared at her, surprised, this was probably the first time she talked back to him.

“Yes, she left you, but at least you knew her. I never got the chance to remember her.”

He silently watched her; his expression emotionless.

Before she could stop herself, she added: “And I grew up without two parents instead of one.”

She hoped that he will say something to show that he's sorry, maybe even apologize, but nothing like that came. “If you don't like my parenting, why don't you just leave?”

“What?” Dot blurted out, surprised.

“I raised you as good as I could, even though I never wanted to have a child, especially not one as useless as you.”

“Sorry for being born then,” said Dot silently, tears rolling down her cheeks as she walked to her room. He screamed something after her, but she didn't listen, she couldn't bring herself to care anymore.

As she buried her face into the pillows on her bed, his words were stabbing her like knives. She desperately tried to get them out of her head, but nothing seemed to work.

“Why don't you just leave?” said her father's voice in her head all over again. She tried to find any reason not to, but what's going to stop her?

She took a deep breath and then quickly, before she would start to overthink, wrote: “Can I come too?”

“Permanently,” she added.

Hester's response came almost immediately. “Of course.”

...

Soon after, Hester's small apartment was filled by Dot's bags, usually filled with plushies. Anadil has decided that it's the perfect time for a total clean up, she started reorganising everything and tidying up the disaster that the apartment was. Meanwhile, Dot was crying and playing sad songs on guitar. And Hester was watching them, slowly losing her sanity.

“We can't just sit here all day long,” she said, interrupting another one of Dot's ballads.

“Do you have any better ideas?”

“Why don't we do something fun and illegal?”

“What about something fun that isn't ille-” started Dot.

“You need to be more specific. Something fun and illegal is anything between selling dog hair and blowing the whole school up,” said Anadil.

“Wait, is selling dog hair illegal-”

“I was thinking about graffiti,” said Hester.

“That's vandalism.”

“Sounds good.”

“Knew I could count on you,” smirked Hester.

Dot gave up on trying to argue, she knew if they two decided, there's no way she could stop them.

And soon, they were standing in front of an almost new wall. Hester pulled out her impressive collection of spray paint, which included almost every colour shade possible. She started outlining the painting she had in mind.

“Woah there Picasso, I thought you were going to spray your name and call it a day.”

“People who do that are a disgrace, really, they shouldn't even be allowed near a wall, it's just straight up narcisstic and disgusting.”

Anadil smirked and kept on watching, while Dot started painting some flowers.

“Are you not going to do anything?” Hester asked.

“I would probably end up like the people who just write their own name. I have zero artistic talent.”

“You can at least try.”

Anadil sighed and then drew a heart.

“Seriously?”

“You have way too high expectations for me to expect anything else.”

“Well, it's not a bad heart.”

“You sound like my kindergarten teacher.”

“Did you have anyone in mind when you were drawing it?” asked Hester carefully.

“Do you want me to say you? Cause if yes, then yes, you can have it.”

“I can have your heart?”

“You already do.”

They kept staring at each other, both blushing furiously, surprised at what did they say.

“Oh my god, that was so sweet, I totally ship you guys!” exclaimed Dot, reminding them of her presence.

Soon, Hester and Dot returned to painting and Anadil watched them. She couldn't help herself but smile- maybe she lost her house that day, but now she found home.


	10. We need therapy

Excited whispers filled the hallways, it was the day everybody has waited for- the day of the student council elections. Usually, most people wouldn't even notice, but this time was different.

Students were secretly taking bets about who would win, the pre-election surveys showed very balanced results. Some people were going to vote for the Arbed boys, usually out of fear, admiration, or just to vote against the Coven, who have earned many enemies.

But there was a second group, the people who liked the three girls, finally posing a real threat to Arbed boys, and they wanted change, just to prove that the rest of their school lives doesn't have to be spent walking on eggshells to not anger Arbed boys in any way.

And both groups were sure that they are going to win.

...

“It's weird to have everyone staring at us,” remarked Anadil while walking through the crowd of students.

“I know. Hopefully this all will be over quickly.”

It was the afternoon they were getting the results and all of them were nervous to say at least, everyone having high expectation for them didn't help even in a slightest bit.

Arbed boys were already standing in the small room near the podium, waiting for them with smirks on their faces.

“Nice attempt, witches, but you still stand no chance,” said Japeth upon seeing them. Kei and Rhian looked like they desired to be somewhere else and Aric prominently played with his lighter.

“Aww, you think somebody actually voted for you? Sweet,” mocked Hester.

Before he could respond, Mrs. Dovey was already on the podium, testing the microphone. Without any other words, they stepped behind her, both groups glaring at each other.

“After weeks of hard work on campaigns by our amazingly talented students, I'm happy to announce the winners of the student council elections. This year, the participation rate was very high. I believe that you've made the right choice and will be satisfied with results. Without further delay, the winner is...”

Aric grinned and stepped forward.

“The Coven!”

Aric froze and then took a step back.

Hester almost burst out laughing when she noticed his expression, but managed to stay relatively calm. Dot didn't have that much self-control, she started giggling loudly, which resulted in Dovey's disapproving stare.

After the ceremony, which took way too long for them to actually pay attention, Dot hugged them both. “I can't believe it! We actually did it!”

“Of course we did, really, we had victory secured from the very first moment,” said Hester.

“We've done quite a good job,” added Anadil, smiling which made Hester smile even more.

“Quite? They've stood no chance!” grinned Hester as she pulled her girlfriend closer, planting a small kiss on her hair.

They've quickly pulled away when the Arbed boys approached them.

“Maybe you've won the battle, but we'll win the war,” said Aric, his purple contact lenses glimmering unnaturally in the dimmed lightning of the waiting room.

“Not much war to begin with, really. Fighting a bunch of kittens would be harder.”

Japeth's face reddened a bit. “Talking to them has no point.” And then he left, the rest following soon after.

“I think your campaign was pretty cool,” commented Rhian before walking away with them.

When they've made sure they're alone, Dot asked: “So, what are we going to do now? We should celebrate somehow.”

“Why don't we just go home?” asked Anadil.

“I'll find some sparkling wine and we can pretend it's some fancy champagne,” added Hester.

Home. The more Dot thought about it, the more accurate the words seemed. Despite the fact that they've moved in only two days before and the place was terribly small, leaving her to sleep on the couch, encircled by her unpacked bags, the place felt more at home than living with her father ever did. There was something special about not having anybody judging your every move and actually caring about you.

“Yeah, staying home sounds nice,” she said, enjoying the way “home” rolled of her tongue.

After a while of silently waiting in the room to avoid meeting too many people, Dot added: “I'm really lucky to have you guys.”

“Yeah, same,” said Hester.

“Me too,” joined Anadil.

They said it so casually, like they were only talking about weather and then continued their previous activity, which was, in this case, making out.

Dot smiled. They were still really secretive about their relationship, which was quite logical, considering what happened before, but in front of her, they knew no shame and although she saw some things she didn't want to see, she was glad that they trusted her so much.

Before they could leave, Kiko approached them, making Hester and Anadil separate again, to which they reacted with groans and annoyed stares. Dot was glad Kiko came, because the two were getting too touchy and she didn't want to know how far they'll get.

“Congrats on winning! Uhm, Dot, can I speak to you? In private,” said Kiko, nervously eyeing the two girls who looked like they were ready to murder her.

“Of course!” Dot soon followed her.

When Hester and Anadil were out of their sight, Kiko started: “When I said you should do it, I didn't expect you would actually do it, I only hoped so, but then you started the campaign and then you won and really, it's the coolest thing I've ever seen. Thank you so much!”

“You're welcome,” smiled Dot.

“You really don't realise how much of heroes are you now, do you?”

“Heroes?”

“It's like you started a revolution. Soon, more and more people will stand up to them, until they are completely powerless.”

“It won't make much of a difference, this is our last year.”

“It's better to finish high school with at least few good memories. Oh, I almost forgot. I brought you a little gift.”

“For me?”

“Yes, of course. Here it is.”

She handed her a scarf, similar to the one she’s lost. 

“It’s beautiful!”

“I know! Okay, this is all, I have to go now. Thanks again!”

And then Kiko left. Dot looked at her walking away.

She didn't need any words or gifts to feel like a hero, the only thing necessary was to see smile return to Kiko's face.

...

On the way back home, they stopped in a park to feed, or in Hester and Anadil's case, terrorise the ducks. When they wanted to continue home, Dot's phone rang.

It was her father. Curious, she picked up, but she couldn't help the feeling that her day is going to be instantly ruined. She realised that she was wearing the one yellow crop top her father said she shouldn't wear; dread filled her stomach. It was so easy to forget everything he said when she didn't meet him, but hearing the sound of his voice made everything much worse.

“Dot, come home, I know you're mad at me, but I'm the only family you have and we must stick together,” he said.

She didn't know what to say. This was it? No apology? Nothing to indicate he was actually regretting anything?

Sooner than she could react, Hester snatched the phone from her hands. “She has us, so shut up, you stupid twat, because we are a better family to her than you could have ever been.” And then she hung up on him.

Dot smiled: “You're right.”

Later, they were all curled up on the couch, which was way too small for them. Dot played the guitar, the soft sounds echoing in the small room. Hester and Anadil quietly listened, Anadil lying in Hester's lap.

“Do you think everything is going to be good now?” asked Dot.

“Probably not. Sounds too good to be true.”

“Well, whatever comes, we'll get through it somehow.”

Because past traumas don't just vanish after a hug and some kind words. Maybe the scars they left never disappear and even if they do, the process is hard and long. And that's fine, they were ready for it, because they've got each other and that's all that matters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the end. Thank you for reading this far, it really means a lot to me! I hope you liked it, because I enjoyed writing this a lot, even though it has many flaws. More fanfics coming soon! (or not so soon because my writing process is awfully long :D)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic and my first longer story in English, so it probably is far from perfect, but I'd love to improve, so please, if you find any mistakes, let me know. :)


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